FOURCHU, N.S. – A small fishing community in southeastern Cape Breton is mourning the loss of a world-famous chef who died in a car crash on the island last Friday during one of her frequent visits to her summer home in Fourchu.
Sixty-seven-year-old Dorothy Cann Hamilton died in the collision on Highway 105 in Melford when her SUV collided with a truck pulling a camper trailer.
She was the founder and CEO of the International Culinary Center in New York, a world-renowned cooking school which also has campuses in San Francisco and near Parma, Italy.
Nancy Whitney-Latham, a designated lay minister with the United Church, says Hamilton was beloved in Fourchu for her contributions to the small town.
“The people of Fourchu will be grieving this loss of their friend for a long time to come. I know when I got the call, I couldn’t speak … I’m still seeing Dorothy and hearing Dorothy and I really find it hard to accept she’s gone in such a tragic way,” she said.
She held parties with music and delicious food, and invited the local people into her home, said the minister.
“She had such a spark for life. She loved people and she loved to help people all the time … There were no airs about her. She threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater and away she’d go,” said Whitney-Latham.
She says Hamilton gave generously to the Fourchu United Church and supported the local fishermen by promoting their lobster in her restaurants and schools.
“Her restaurants used nothing other than the lobster from the Fourchu fishermen,” she said.
Hamilton was also working with Cape Breton tourism officials to develop ways to attract people to the area, said Whitney-Latham.
Whitney-Latham says a special service will be held at the church this Sunday, and that Hamilton will be laid to rest in Fourchu, the home community of her grandfather, after a funeral service in New York.
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